'Taming' Your Savannah Monitor
This article explains how I managed to gain my savannah monitor's trust enough for him to be comfortable being an educational animal.
This is my 4-month-old savannah monitor, Pablo. I got this guy (girl) when she was just a couple weeks old from the North of England and had her brought back to Central Scotland to join my family. I already had the vivarium and equipment ready before getting her as I already have reptiles and spare equipment. I will be doing a savannah monitor care article so if there are any questions about my set up and routine, hopefully they should all be answered there.
When Pablo arrived (at 4 AM might I add), he was no bigger than 6 inches including his tail. He was, of course, far darker than he is now, as they need more pigment as hatchlings for camouflage. And I just couldn't believe how small he was as I had no idea how old he was and had little to no information about him except that he was the last hatchling in his clutch left. I removed him from all his packaging and placed him inside his vivarium on the damp paper towel he was sitting on, allowing him to acclimatise to his new surroundings and explore at his own pace. To my surprise, within 15 minutes, he was wandering round, exploring his new enclosure including beginning to climb his logs and explore his hides. I then attempted to feed him a super worm, not at all expecting him to eat it bearing in mind he'd only arrived a couple hours prior, but he ate it without hesitation. Ever since day one he has been a brilliant eater and not too much of a fussy one either.
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